No Bones About It, Broth Is Hot

The New Year started off with a bang, when the New York Times ran a story on bone broth that unleashed a veritable flood of similar articles and TV spots testifying to the hipster status and healthful properties of the humble liquid. The piece featured Brodo, a new storefront-window operation in Manhattan that dishes up three different broths served in paper cups and suitable for gulping on the go. Brodo, which is Italian for broth, is the brainchild of Chef Marco Canora, who maintains that the elixir is both nutritious and comforting and that it helped him to reclaim the health and vigor he’d lost to decades of smoking, drinking and over indulging, otherwise known as being a chef.

As soon as the article hit the streets, what the Times dubbed “broth-ers” started popping up all over the place. Eater weighed in on the subject by citing restaurants around the country like Asian Box in Los Angeles, Medea’s Espresso and Juice Bar in Arden, NC and Mimi Cheng’s in New York City that have jumped on the broth bandwagon. Eater Los Angeles pointed to the success of “From Kitchen with Love,” the $22 soup cocktail at Pistola that combines lamb consommé with 15-year-old scotch; the Italian-American spot is said to be considering a special soup-cocktail menu to launch in March. And Red Apron in Washington DC has started selling broths that can be mixed and matched with add-ins and aromatics like dried oranges or grated ginger packed in sachets for easy steeping.

Chain chefs have been taking stock of the trend, too. As part of its protein-centric Pub Diet promotion, Applebee’s introduced a Pepper-Crusted Sirloin & Whole Grains entrée served in light broth. Sibling chains Sweet Tomatoes and Souplantation currently offer Asian Ginger Broth as a January special, while Dickey’s Barbecue Pit debuted Stampede Stew, its winning entry from TNT’s On the Menu program, which combines turnip greens, beans and sausage in a hearty vegetable broth. Carrabba’s Italian Grill features Minestrone made with a rich vegetable broth, while competitor Il Fornaio makes its Minestrone di Verdure with vegetable stock.

The difference between these two shines a light on a minor culinary contretemps relative to the distinction between broth and stock. Most experts assert that broth is made primarily from meat and stock is made primarily with bones, which perhaps makes the term bone broth a bit of an oxymoron. No matter what the classical definition, virtually everyone agrees that the two terms are used pretty much interchangeably today.

So what’s driving this broth business? Its popularity reflects a combination of factors like the impact of the Paleo diet, consumer interest in clean foods with no artificial additives and even folk traditions that tout the healing powers of good soup. It’s also convenient for both consumers and restaurateurs. Lots of kitchens have stock pots that simmer pretty much around the clock to provide the base for soups and sauces, and it’s easy to use that same stuff for fresh, tasty and quaffable pick-me-ups. Cold winter temperatures may also be giving the beverage a boost, so it will be interesting to see whether consumers still feel the love when the weather turns hot and whether some creative entrepreneur comes up with an iced version.